Pink Bullets
by kaylx
Summary: The dust has only just began to fall...This can't be happening.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the actions to the characters.

Note: Caleb is dead in this story and there's no drama with Trey being shot, M/R, S/S…Kirsten is not an alcoholic, etc.

"_Where are we? What the hell is going on?  
The dust has only just began to fall  
Crop circles in the carpet, sinking, feeling  
Spin me around again and rub my eyes  
This can't be happening…"  
__- Imogen Heap_

Chapter One

"Okay, Ryan, what do you want to eat for supper?" Seth scattered the take out menus on the coffee table in front of Ryan/

Ryan paused the playstation game and picked up a Joe's pizza menu. "How about we have just your basic pizza tonight, Seth. I'm really not all that hungry."

"Meat lovers it is." Seth picked up the phone and called Joe's pizzeria.

"So, when do your parents get home?" Ryan asked, his eyes glued to the TV set in front of him. He was playing Tony Hawk underground.

"Beats me. You know how those charity events go. Hell, I'm just glad we talked our way out of it tonight. By the way, good call on the major homework excuse." Seth pointed out.

"I thought you did have homework?" He questioned.

"Dude, it's not due till Friday and it's only Wednesday."

"Well, I've got a huge English paper, which I plan on finishing tonight. So, don't bug me." Ryan replied, even though he knew that Seth would bug him anyway, one way or another, Seth would find a way.

"Fine then." Seth huffed.

Within the hour, the pizza had been delivered and both Ryan and Seth had stuffed their faces full of it.

"God, I'm full. What do you say we call Marissa and Summer over tonight and watch a movie?"

"Seth." Ryan warned with a glare. "I've got homework." He stood up and took his plate to the sink. "I'm going to the poolhouse now, and I hope to not see you until the morning." He warned.

"Well, you're no fun. Captain Oats and I have way more fun that you and I do these days." Seth declared. "And that's saying a lot."

Ryan frowned. "'Night." He said and left to the poolhouse.

"Well, this sucks." Seth said to himself, as he climbed the stairs in two to his room. He picked up Captain Oats and sat down on his bed with him. "It's only eight o'clock, Captain Oats. Yeah, I know I should really work on my homework, but it's boring. I hate Calculus anyway." Seth responded to his plastic horse. "What's that? You're very smart, no wonder why I always ask you for advice."

Seth picked up his Calculus homework and raced downstairs and out to the poolhouse. He knocked on the door once and walked in. Ryan was sprawled out on his bed with a book open.

"Seth, leave." Ryan kept his eye on the book in front of him.

"Ry, hear me out a minute." He put his homework down on Ryan's bed and sat down.

Ryan sighed and sat up. "This better not take long, 'cause I have a lot of reading to do, like ten more chapters." He told him, matter-of-factly.

"You're in luck, Ryan. I see that you're are reading '_The Stone Angel' _by Margaret Laurence, which I also happened to have read last semester."

"You're point, Seth?" Ryan was growing impatient.

"You're way, and I mean way, better at calculus than I am and if Mr. Bond sees that I've done poorly on the homework he assigned, that means that mom and dad will find out. And not only will they find out about my doing poorly, they will also find out how poorly you are doing in English." Seth explained.

"Who says I'm doing poorly in English?"

"I couldn't help but notice your tardiness with your English paper." Seth pointed out.

"I was busy…With other things."

"Other things, being Marissa maybe?"

"Point?"

"If mom and dad were to find out that Marissa was causing you to slip in your studies…Well, who knows what they will do."

"You just want me to do your Calculus homework, Seth." Ryan said, bluntly.

Seth shrugged. "So, what do you say, brotha?"

Ryan groaned. "Fine, I'll do your homework for you, just this once. But if you fail because you didn't do this assignment, don't blame me. Blame yourself."

"Great. You're the best, Ryan. So, what exactly do I have to write for you English paper."

"You read the book, right?"

"Well," Seth laughed. "I bought the audio tape on it."

"Okay…" Ryan handed Seth a sheet. "Just pick a topic and write about it."

Seth looked at the paper. "This is easy, bro. I'll just write the character study on Hagar Shipley. Piece of cake." Seth handed Ryan his calculus book and question sheet. He then walked over behind Ryan's bed and opened Ryan's laptop.

Ryan opened Seth's textbook and started working Seth's homework.

* * *

Seth finished typing the conclusion to Ryan's English paper and sat back and read the whole thing over again, correcting all errors. "Man, I'm good." He patted himself on the back and then looked at his watch. "Holy cow, its midnight. Ryan, you done yet?" He looked over at Ryan, "Dude, you fell asleep!"

He walked over to Ryan's bed and sat down next to him. The calculus textbook was open next to him and he had a pencil stuck in his mouth. Seth took the pencil out of Ryan's mouth and started to pretend to draw on his face.

Ryan jolted up from his sleep and shoved Seth off the bed.

"Ow." Seth groaned.

"What time is it?" Ryan rubbed his eye.

"Midnight. Are you done with the calculus homework?" He asked, standing up.

"Yeah, it's done. I finished it a long time ago and I just fell asleep."

"Great, 'cause I just finished you're essay and if you don't get an A on it, I give you permission to kick my ass." Seth announced.

Ryan glared at him.

"Fine then, if you don't get an A then I will let you win at playstation now and again." He replied to Ryan's glare.

Ryan threw a pillow at him.

"You're no use." Seth groaned. "I'm going to bed now. I'm beat."

"'K, goodnight."

Seth picked up his homework and walked into the kitchen as he looked over the answers that Ryan did. As he started walking out of the kitchen and towards the stairs, Seth smelt smoke in the air. He looked up from his homework and froze. Smoke was filling up the staircase. Seth dropped his homework and ran to the poolhouse.

"RYAN!" He barged into the poolhouse and turned on the lights. "FIRE!"

Ryan jumped out of bed. "What? Fire?"

Seth ran back into the house and Ryan followed him.

"Where are your parents? Are they home?" Ryan quickly asked.

Seth shook his head. "I – I don't know!" Seth picked up the cordless phone in the kitchen and dialed 911.

Ryan noticed Sandy's keys on the kitchen counter and swore. "I've got to go see if your parents are home." Ryan ran off upstairs.

"There's a fire! My house is on fire!" Seth yelled into the phone. He gave the operator his address.

"Is everyone safely out of the house?" The operator asked him.

"I don't know. My brother went upstairs to see if my parents were sleeping. I don't know!" He frantically replied. "Oh God…"

"Son, I need you to get safely out of the house. The fire department is on its way." The operator said.

"Okay." Seth hung up the phone and went to the staircase. "Ryan?"

Ryan appeared with Kirsten in his hands. He quickly took her outside, with Seth following behind him, and laid her down on the grass. "She's not breathing, help her Seth. I couldn't find your dad. I'll be right back!" He said and ran off.

"Oh god." Seth knelt down beside his mother. She was covered in burns all over her body. He propped up her neck and performed CPR to his best acknowledgment. It had been years since he took the course in his freshmen year.

Seth wrapped his mouth around his mother and blew in. Within seconds the fire department, ambulances and cops were at the house, along with neighbors.

Seth stepped aside and watched in horror as one of the paramedics tried to revive his mother.

* * *

Please tell me if you enjoyed this and tell me if I should continue. I've had this idea in my head for a long time and I just wrote this up quick.

Next chapter...Will Kirsten be okay? Will Ryan get Sandy out of the house? Read/Review, thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the actions to the characters.

_Note: Many thanks for all the reviews and I apologize for all the spelling errors in this chapter, as well as in the first chapter. I wrote that chapter late at night a__nd I don't have an editor (friend). Sorry for my stupidity…now on with chapter two!_

* * *

"_To think I might not see those eyes  
Makes it so hard not to cry…"  
–Snow Patrol_

* * *

Chapter Two

Seth Cohen paced the waiting room of the hospital and checked his watch. He had been waiting for thirty minutes now and there was still no word on how his parents and Ryan were doing. He didn't get a chance to see if they were okay when he was outside at home because he was being questioned by a police officer.

He wished that he wasn't alone right now. He was still shocked of the events that had just occurred. Just over an hour ago he at home sitting in the poolhouse writing an essay and thinking about the new comic that was coming out tomorrow. He felt a sudden wave of guilt and slouched down in a chair.

He flipped open his cell phone and dialed Summer's number. She didn't pick up her phone, so he decided to leave a message. "Summer, it's me. Seth. I'm at the hospital right now and my parents and Ryan are…I don't know how it happened, Summer." Seth tried to explain himself. "There was a fire at my place…You're probably sleeping. When you get this message call me back, okay? Bye." Seth flipped his phone closed and walked up to the front desk.

"Excuse me? Is there any word on my family?" He asked the nurse at the front desk.

"The doctor will be coming out shortly." She assured him.

Seth walked back over to the chair he had been sitting in and flipped open his cell phone. He decided to call Marissa.

"Hello?" A sleepy Marissa answered her cell phone.

"Marissa, it's Seth."

"Seth, what are you doing calling me after midnight?" Marissa asked.

"I'm at the hospital. My – "

"Oh my God, is everything okay? Are you okay? Is Ryan okay?" She frantically asked.

"I'm fine. But I don't know about Ryan or my parents. There was a fire at my house. I've been waiting for the doctor to come out and tell me what's going on."

"Seth, I'm on my way, okay?"

"Okay."

Marissa hung up and left her house quickly.

* * *

"Is Sandy and Kirsten okay?" Ryan asked, removing his oxygen mask. The doctor was writing something down in Ryan's chart, as two nurses tended to his burns.

"There are other doctor working on them right now. I will find out, as soon as I stitch up your hands." The doctor replied and then put Ryan's oxygen mask back on his face.

Ryan raised his hands up slowly and saw blood all over them.

"W-what? I don't remember…" Ryan was confused.

"The paramedics told me that you had tried to bust open a window." The doctor replied to his confusion.

Suddenly everything came back to Ryan. He had found Sandy and when he went back to the staircase it was full of flames standing four feet tall. That's when he decided to smash Seth's window open.

"Ryan? Dude, are you okay?" Seth asked, as he followed the nurse into an ER room.

"Just some scratches." He replied.

"I called Marissa. She's on her way."

"Thanks." Ryan clenched his jaw as the doctor began to stitch up his hand.

"I broke your window." Ryan informed him.

Seth shook his head. "Dude, that doesn't matter."

The doctor finished stitching up Ryan's hands. "I'll go check on your parents, boys." He said and then left the room.

Ryan was transferred onto another bed and then was wheeled into another room, as Seth followed behind them. Once they were left alone Seth started to cry.

"Oh God…" He hid his face and sat down in a chair next to Ryan's bed. "I can't believe…" He couldn't finished his words.

"They're alright, Seth."

"But what if they're not? What if they're badly hurt or what if they're –"

"Seth, don't." Ryan turned his head away from Seth. "They're fine." Ryan tried to reassure Seth, but he wasn't sure himself if he believed it.

"Ryan?" Marissa walked through the doorway and headed straight to Ryan's bedside. "Oh my God, are you okay?" She brushed a strand of hair from his forehead.

Ryan took off his oxygen mask, "I'm okay. Thanks for coming."

Marissa checked Ryan over and gasped. Ryan's arms and face were covered with burn patches.

"I'm okay, Marissa. It'll heal."

"But you're so pale and burnt." She commented.

Seth shook his head and walked out of the room.

"Is he okay?" She asked.

"I don't know. Can you go check on him?" Ryan asked.

* * *

Seth punched the vending machine's button violently and cursed.

"Ate your coins?" Marissa asked.

Seth nodded and Marissa handed him some change.

"Are you okay, Seth?"

"My house just caught on fire and I'm here…Standing, while the rest of my family are in hospital beds." He explained.

"You're lucky, Seth."

"No, I'm not lucky. Lucky would be me sound asleep at home right now, with my parents sleeping two doors down away from me. So, I'm not lucky, am I?" Seth shouted.

Marissa stood there silently, as Seth struggled with his bag of frito's.

"Seth Cohen?" A doctor walked up to him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm Dr. Vincellete. Let's go back to your brother's room and we can talk about your parents." He said.

Seth and Marissa followed the doctor to Ryan's room. Marissa sat down next to Ryan's bed, as Seth stood next to the door.

"When can I see my parents?" Seth asked.

Dr. Vincellete ignored Seth question and started to explain his parents' injuries. "Seth, your mom has suffered moderate third degree burns over her body. She has lost a lot of fluid and is now on IV fluid therapy."

"Is my dad okay?"

"Boy's, your father suffered from severe third degree burns all over his body, damaging muscles and bones. He went into a state of shock on the way to the hospital and the paramedics were unable to save him." Marissa gasp and started to cry, while both Ryan and Seth were speechless. "I'm very sorry for your loss. Is there anyone you would like one of the nurses to call?" He asked.

Seth shook his head.

"If you'd like, I can take you to your mother, Seth." Dr. Vincellete offered.

Seth nodded and followed Dr. Vincellete to his mother's room.

When Seth walked into his mothers' room he couldn't look at her. Anywhere there was skin, there was gauze covering it.

"We gave your mother some pain medication, which is helping her sleep right now. I'll leave you alone for a few minutes." Dr. Vincellete left Kirsten's room.

"Mom…" Seth sat down next to her bed. He wanted to hug his mother so badly right now, but he was afraid to touch her. Seth bent over her and kissed his mother's right cheek. Her left cheek was covered in gauze. "I'm so sorry." He whispered.

* * *

Seth woke up the next morning sitting in the chair next to his mothers' bed with a blanket covering him. A nurse was in the room checking up on Kirsten when he opened his eyes.

"How are you doing?" The nurse asked him.

"Okay." He replied. He looked at Kirsten and saw her eyes flicker. "Has she been awake yet?" He asked.

"Not yet." The nurse replied and left the room.

"Mom?" Seth tried to wake her up.

Kirsten eyes slowly opened.

"Hey." His eyes started to water.

Kisten slowly lifted her hands up and cried at the site of them. They were wrapped with gauze and looked like little balls.

"It's okay, mom." Seth said.

"Where's Ryan and your father? Are they okay?" She asked, quietly.

Seth eyes watered. "Ryan's a couple doors down. He's being released today."

"Is he okay?"

Seth nodded. "Just a couple of burns and cuts."

"And your father?"

Seth shook his head. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that Sandy was dead. He didn't want to believe it.

"Seth." Kirsten started crying.

Seth shook his head again.

"Sandy... no. He's fine. Tell me he's fine, Seth." She cried.

"I'm sorry." Seth whispered.

* * *

"…_And as we say our long goodbye  
I nearly do…"_

* * *


End file.
